


The Butterfly Effect

by LordRebeccaSama



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Crack, Ba Sing Se, Butterfly, Complete, Crack, Decisions, Gen, One Shot, Sickness, Zuzu, non-canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-06
Updated: 2013-03-06
Packaged: 2017-12-04 10:56:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/709992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordRebeccaSama/pseuds/LordRebeccaSama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko gets sick because of his decision underneath the lake in Ba Sing Se, but it's not a natural sickness and it has some pretty nasty side effects...like growing butterfly wings for one.</p>
<p>Oneshot. Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Butterfly Effect

"You should know this is not a natural sickness," Iroh told Zuko, pulling him up and handing him a cup, "But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying tea."

"Wh-whats happening," he asked him, drinking the cup.

"Your critical decision, what you did beneath the lake," Iroh told the sick prince, "It was in such conflict with your image of yourself that you are now at war with your own mind and body."

"What's that mean?" Zuko asked. A sudden wave of fever fell over him and he lay back on his bed, hot and heavy with sickness.

"You are going through a metamorphosis my nephew," Iroh told him, dabbing the younger's face with a cloth; "it will not be a pleasant experience. But when you come out of it you will be the beautiful prince you were always meant to be."

**Some time later...**

Zuko woke up from his sickness a week later. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them.

When he felt strong enough to stand, he walked over to the mirror and basin of water, splashing some water onto his face to wash off some of the sweat that still clung to him.

He looked into the mirror and gasped. He pushed away from the mirror and tripped over his feet, falling onto his butt.

Iroh came rushing into the room when he heard his nephew fall.

"Is everything alright?" he asked his nephew.

Zuko was staring at the mirror in shock. He could still see himself, but behind was a pair of sparkly red, gold, black, and orange wings and shimmered in the light and twitched with every move Zuko made.

"Uncle...what are those?" Zuko asked

"Those are wings," Iroh said, remaining calm for his nephew. Truth be told, the wings freaked him out since he had no idea why Zuko suddenly grew them. "While you were sick and out of it, you put yourself into a cocoon and then two days later you burrowed your way out of it and had those beautiful butterfly wings. I'm surprised you didn't wake up until now." Iroh poured two cups of tea.

"Why do I have wings?" Zuko choked out, still staring at the offending appendages.

"I don't know, nephew." Iroh handed Zuko one cup of tea. "Maybe you were always meant to be a butterfly in this life," he said with a small smile on his face and Zuko's response was to glare angrily at his uncle.

**Battle of Ba Sing Se**

"What are you--ahaha--going to do with those frilly--hahaha--little wings, Zuzu?" Azula asked her older brother.

Zuko scowled and wished for another time that he could chop of the offending things.

"He'll do this!" Aang shouted and pulled Zuko into the air by his foot.

Zuko's wings flapped frantically as he tried to get the bald kid to let him go.

Multicolored sparkles drifted down from his wings and landed on Azula. She tried to brush the sparkles off, but they stuck to her skin and clothes making her sleepy, and she soon fell asleep because of the magical properties of Zuko's butterfly wings.

And thus, once again, the day was saved thanks to Zuko and his--snort--sparkly butterfly wings.

_End._


End file.
